Commissioner calls for action to tackle in-family child sex abuse

Less than one in eight instances of child sexual abuse (CSA) are known to the police and children’s services, according to analysis from the Office of the Children’s Commissioner for England.

Of the 425,000 incidents of CSA the commissioner estimates occurred over a two-year period, just 49,673 were recorded by statutory agencies (see graphic).

The analysis suggests up to two-thirds of abuse incidents happen in and around the family, yet this is an issue often overlooked, it concludes.

Data backs this up. Of the 49,673 recorded cases of CSA, just 9,066 involved abuse by family members.   

The children’s commissioner’s office was so concerned about the under-reporting of family-related abuse that in July 2014, it launched an inquiry looking into the prevalence of the issue.

The University of Middlesex was commissioned to examine 57,000 research articles on family-based CSA, and data was gathered from all police forces in England on every case of CSA between April 2012 and March 2014.

The inquiry also heard from practitioners and experts, while a large survey of adults who had experienced sexual abuse in childhood was carried out.  

The Child Sexual Abuse Inquiry report, the first stage of which is published today (Tuesday), reveals CSA in the family environment is a “considerable” challenge to professionals and identifies several deep-rooted issues about practice.

It particularly highlights the difficulties teachers and children’s social workers face in identifying and responding to instances of CSA and family-based abuse.

Schools

The inquiry found major concerns around the role schools play in identifying CSE, says Graham Ritchie, the commissioner’s policy lead in the area. “Children and young people are more likely to disclose to a teacher than any other professional,” he says (see graphic).

However, victims don’t usually tell teachers directly, explains Ritchie. Instead, they are more likely to spot signs through a child’s behaviour or presentation.  

Professionals reported difficulties around initiating a safeguarding process without disclosure from the child first.

“This is the ‘grey area’ where concerns reside, and professionals are called to act upon their judgment in the best interests of the child,” the report states.

Ritchie adds: “This suggests it is important that teachers are given the training necessary to identify signs of CSA, not just through initial training but through continued professional development as well. It needs a whole-school approach, where all staff are trained to the same level.

“Teachers are often very good at spotting when something isn’t right with a child,” says Ritchie, but he highlights the importance of teachers understanding potential safeguarding implications.

To address this, the report says professionals need to adopt a “proactive enquiry” approach when dealing with suspected, but not disclosed, cases of CSA.

Another concern, Ritchie says, is the need to educate children about CSA. “Many are being severely abused and are not able to under­stand what’s happening to them.”

This could be a factor in why a third of CSA and half of in-family abuse is not reported until a year after it occurred (see graphic).